This year, Middle East Insurance Review turns 20. For a person, this is the age when society begins to think of you as an adult, a fully functional, hopefully contributing member of the community.
For a magazine, it is a mark of longevity and consistency. By this point, MEIR is a veteran of the industry, having seen the sector’s development over the past two decades and how it has caught up to, and in some regards, even surpassed its peers in more established regions.
For a person, reaching 20 means taking the first steps on a path to an uncertain future (especially in today’s turbulent times); almost no one, at that age, knows exactly what they are going to do with their lives, and are still exploring their options and chasing their passions.
Unlike people, a magazine like ours has its path clearly laid out in front of it. The insurance industry across the MENA region is racing forward at impressive speeds, and we only have to follow it, and continue to recognise the achievements and accomplishments.
We can also look back and see what we have already achieved. It is a good time for us to look at our archives and see how far we have come, and how we built the reputation that we now have. This year also marks my tenth year with the magazine and the beginning of my second as Editorial Director. I have very large shoes to fill, and the prospect of carrying the magazine through another 10 years is daunting, especially considering the state of the world we live in.
AI continues to both challenge and excite; those of us in the journalism and writing business know how easy it is for us to be replaced by a machine (who which won’t even do half as good of a job but will still be considered ‘good enough’). The constant challenge of attempting to deliver value beyond just the words on the page is never-ending but also rewarding.
It is, however, fortunate for us to be working with the insurance industry, famously a ‘people industry’. The relationships that MEIR has built over the years, both as a company and as individuals will hopefully continue to help us in doing our job and help serve the industry.
For the rest of the year, in each issue, we will be publishing one of our older articles, a look back at the annals of history for both MEIR and the MENA insurance industry, a reminder of the valuable work that we do. I hope you’ll find this perusal through nostalgia to be as enlightening for you as it is for me. M
Ahmad Zaki
Editorial Director
Middle East Insurance Review